


New Ground, Fresh Ground

by jasonye4273



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow, The Wandering Inn - pirateaba
Genre: Gen, Making This Up As I Go, My First Fanfic, No Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27774952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jasonye4273/pseuds/jasonye4273
Summary: One moment, Taylor Hebert is hiding in Winslow’s bathrooms; the next, she’s running out of a dragon’s cave. It seems Rhir’s hero-summoning spell reached not one, but two Earths.
Comments: 70
Kudos: 126





	1. Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Wandering Inn is written by pirateaba, and the Parahumans series by Wildbow. Both are available for free online, and are very good. Credit for characters and worldbuilding goes to those amazing authors; I’m just playing in their sandbox. If you haven’t read either of those, go read them instead!
> 
> The first four paragraphs (italicized) are quoted directly from the first chapter of Worm, as a jumping off point.

_ The bell rang with a lilting ding-dong, and I was the first one out the door. I didn’t run, but I moved at a decent clip as I headed up the stairwell to the third floor and made my way to the girl’s washroom. _

_ There were a half dozen girls there already, which meant I had to wait for a stall to open up. I nervously watched the door of the bathroom, feeling my heart drop every time someone entered the room. _

_ As soon as there was a free stall, I let myself in and locked the door. I leaned against the wall and exhaled slowly. It wasn’t quite a sigh of relief. Relief implied you felt better. I wouldn’t feel better until I got home. No, I just felt less uneasy. _

_It took maybe five minutes before the noise of others in the washroom stopped. A peek below the partitions showed that there was nobody else in the other stalls. I sat on the lid of the toilet and got my brown bag lunch to begin eating._

...

Then I  _yelped_ as the toilet vanished from under me, and I found myself face to face with a... a... a dragon?

Naturally, my first response was to run away, screaming my head off. 

* * *

A bewildered Teriarch watched as the  second human to appear in his cave out of nowhere ran away screaming, and resolved to move even further up into the High Passes. 

* * *

I had never been more grateful for the jogging routine I had recently taken up. After a solid 15 minutes of sprinting down what appeared to be a mountainside, away from the huge lizard  ( _dragon? Lung??_ ) , I stopped to take stock of my surroundings. 

Looking back, there was no sign of anything following me, dragon or otherwise, which was good. I seemed to be somewhere out in the wilderness, with a huge mountain behind me and a vast plains before me. All of this led to one question:  _ what the fuck ? _

There was no sign of how I went from hiding in Winslow’s bathrooms, to inside a cave in the middle of nowhere. The only known teleporter in Brockton Bay was Oni Lee, and he couldn’t have done this. Was this some new villain, or the result of some Tinker experiment gone wrong? But who would attack a school? Was this a Simurgh plot? I hadn’t heard any Endbringer sirens...

As I tried to figure out what was going on, I started to notice the local bugs. I had been too panicked to pay attention at first, but now that I was catching my breath...

Most people can’t tell the difference between species of insects that look similar. Most can’t tell the difference between a house fly and a stable fly, or a house spider and a brown recluse. But with the intimate knowledge my power gave me of the insects I controlled, I could tell the difference. 

So when I turned my attention to the insects in my range, I immediately noticed something was off. I could still pick out the normal types of insects you might expect to find - flies, spiders, butterflies, grasshoppers, etc. - but I didn’t recognize  _ any _ of the species. I could have written this off as a consequence of being in a very different part of the world, but some of the insects were extremely weird, beyond anything I’d ever heard of - and I had done research into exotic species that might be of use if I could obtain them. 

One of the weirder examples could be mistaken for a large fly... except it had four legs, instead of six. And it had a bulbous abdomen filled with... was that acid?

Even stranger were a few nests of spiders I could sense, consisting of camouflaged pit traps in the ground, filled with spiders of all sizes. And when I say all sizes, I mean ranging from your normal house spider, to a few feet across in size. And all of them had very sturdy carapaces covering their entire bodies. 

Were these the creations of some bio-tinker? The species all seemed to be fairly ingrained in the ecosystem. At the very least, if this was the doing of some villain, I would have more firepower to work with. 

* * *

After about a half hour of gathering myself and getting used to the local wildlife, I started walking again, towards the plains. I needed to find civilization, or at least some water. The only things I still had were my wallet and bagged lunch; I had put down my backpack and water bottle in the stall, and hadn’t checked if they had been teleported with me before running away screaming. 

From a distance, I had thought the plains were flat. But as I got closer, I started to see that there were actually huge hills and valleys, covered in grass as far as I could see. So I set out to climb up the closest hill for a better vantage point. 

As I neared the top of the hill, I saw... smoke! In the distance, a plume of smoke, rising from somewhere behind another hill. It could just be a wildfire, but with nothing better to go off of, I started in that direction. 

* * *

An hour later, I had finally climbed up the second hill. Everything was so  _ big  _ here; even the sky seemed bigger. When I looked back at the mountainside I had come from, I couldn’t even see its peak, obscured by huge clouds in the vast sky. 

But as I reached the top of the hill, all of that left my mind. I could see the source of the smoke, and it was a building! In the middle of nowhere, with nothing but grass as far as the eye could see, a lonely building, the only sign of civilization.

And it was probably inhabited, too! Though, would they speak English? This was very far from home...

But no matter, getting there was the first step. Pushing my worries aside, I quickened my pace, breaking into a light jog. I waded through a stream, and then passed by a boulder...

And then leapt  _ back  _ as the rock suddenly sprang to life! Two long, brown pincers snapped closed where I had just been. A flash of pain went up my right arm as one of the pincers nicked it, but I was too occupied running away from the  _giant crab that had been hiding under_ _the rock_ to care. 

Instinctively, I sent some bugs towards it to get in its face and slow it down. I expected to buy some time by annoying it, maybe enough to outrun it. I did  not  expect it to freak out and start clawing at its own face, making sounds like a deeper, extremely loud cricket. 

...I guess those really were acid flies. Useful. 

* * *

As I neared the building, I could see two signs. One, a plaque above the door: “ _The Wandering Inn_ ”. The other, hammered into the ground: “ _No Killing Goblins_.” They were both in English, so that was a good start. But.. Goblins? The bio-tinker possibility was looking more and more likely.

The door opened, and a girl stood in the doorway. She was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, both fairly dirty and slightly singed. She held a knife in one hand, and something I couldn’t quite make out in the other. 

As we met eyes, she visibly relaxed, lowering the knife. She then broke out into a smile, and raised her hand in greeting. “Hey! I’m Erin. What’s your name?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fanfic. Currently not betaed, and mostly just the start of an idea that I had while bored. Unclear if I’ll continue this for too long, and there certainly won’t be a consistent update schedule or anything like that. Comments and reviews are, of course, very appreciated!


	2. Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Wandering Inn is written by pirateaba, and the Parahumans series is written by Wildbow. Both are excellent works that you should check out if you haven’t already, especially as there will be spoilers for both in this fic. All credit for characters and worldbuilding goes to those authors; I’m just playing in their sandboxes. 
> 
> The end of the previous chapter has been edited slightly to better establish where in the Wandering Inn timeline this story takes place.

On top of a hill sat an inn. It was surrounded by ruins, but had stood the test of time. It had recently regained an [Innkeeper], and a name. Now, it had a new guest.

“So... want some pasta?”

Erin received a nod and a murmured reply.

Erin wasn’t quite sure what to make of Taylor. The other girl had shown up and given her name, but hadn’t said much since then. She’d seemed relieved at first to see Erin, but had closed up pretty quickly. There was something about her...

A hiss came from the kitchen. 

“Shit!”

Erin hurried over to check on the pot of pasta, now boiling over, speculation set aside and forgotten. 

A few minutes later, Erin reappeared with plate of pasta and a cup of blue fruit juice. She set them down in front of Taylor, and hesitated. She wasn’t the best at making small talk, but surely an [Innkeeper] should entertain her guests? So, she fell back on what she knew best. 

“...do you play chess?”

* * *

“Checkmate”

The game hadn’t lasted too long. Taylor was decent at chess — better than that Drake had been (there was that niggling thought at the back of her head again) — but she was no match for Erin. And this time Erin hadn’t gone for style points.

“You’re pretty good,” Taylor observed.

“Thanks! I used to play a lot back at home. Not professionally, but I won a few tournaments.”

“...and where’s home?”

The thought in the back of Erin’s head came back. Was Taylor...? She had her suspicions, but she probably shouldn’t just blurt them out, just in case. She could be sneaky. 

“Michigan. Where’re you from?”

“...Brockton Bay.”

“Never heard of it. Is that in the US?”

“...you haven’t? It’s in Massachusetts, near Boston. We’re a pretty large city, with a pretty big cape scene. Ever hear of Lung?”

_ ‘Cape scene’? Lung? _ Erin was still a bit confused, but she had found someone from her home!

“Yes! I knew it! Someone else from Earth! How long have you been here? Did you also suddenly get teleported here? Did you get any levels yet? I’m an [Innkeeper] now, apparently.”

Taylor was a bit put off by the sudden torrent of questions. And now  she was the one with questions. Levels? And what was that strange emphasis on Innkeeper?

“...does that mean you know where we are? I was in my school’s bathroom, and then suddenly appeared on the mountainside a few hours ago. And what was that you said? ‘Levels?’”

“I was also on my way to the bathroom. I’m soooo glad I’m not the only one here! I’ve been here for two weeks now, in this crazy world.”

Erin told Taylor about her past week, from surviving on her own, to meeting Relc and Klbkch, to that annoying [Necromancer] Pisces, to her experiences in Liscor. She didn’t mention the Goblin chieftain. It... still hurt to think about that.

“Apparently, this world works like a video game. You get levels in classes for doing things, and get useful Skills from that. I’m up to level 9 in [Innkeeper] now, m-mostly from cleaning up the Inn and feeding some people who came by and such. I got a few skills, like [Basic Cooking].”

Taylor wasn’t sure what to think of that. She hadn’t played many video games. But this world sounded like something from a fantasy novel. Dragons, Drakes, Gnolls, Antinium, and Goblins. That at least explained all the weird insects.

“This really is another world, huh? Do you have any idea how or why we got here? Maybe some mad Tinker? I heard about Professor Haywire a couple years back, but I thought the government clamped down hard on interdimensional Tinkertech after he made a portal to Aleph...”

There were those weird words again. Erin stared at Taylor as she trailed off, lost in thought. It sounded like Taylor was talking about some... mad scientist? Maybe...

“Hold on. Are you from the future?”

“...I’m from 2011. When are you from?”

“2016. But... I’ve never heard of any interdimensional tech. That’s like, science fiction! And what’s a Tinker?”

Erin wasn’t the best at keeping up with the news, but she was pretty sure she’d have heard if someone made a portal to another dimension!

“Tinkers. You know, capes that invent stuff? Like mad scientists? Do you not know power classifications?”

“Back up. Capes? Powers? What?”

“...did you say you were from  _ Earth _ , or Earth _ Bet _ ?”

* * *

It took a full hour to sort out the confusion. Erin and Taylor were _ not _ , evidently, from the same world. While their Earths had similar histories, a lot diverged with Scion and the advent of superpowers in 1982. 

“Superpowers? That sounds  so _cool_ ! Do superhero comics still exist, like Spiderman? Do you know anyone with powers? Do  _ you _ have powers?”

Their discussion had mostly devolved into Erin gushing over how cool superpowers were. It was... honestly kind of nice to have someone to talk about capes with. Taylor had been somewhat of a cape geek in middle school, but that hobby had fallen by the wayside ever since...

Taylor’s mood soured again. Erin seemed nice, but she’d been burned before. She certainly wasn’t going to answer that last question.

“Capes are pretty cool, yeah, but they also cause a lot of problems. My city, Brockton Bay, is kind of overrun by gangs, all led by capes. We have superpowered drug dealers, an honest-to-God dragon terrorizing the docks, and fucking Neo-Nazis with powers. And that’s not to mention the Endbringers. Believe me, Earth Bet is a shithole.”

Erin paused. She  _ had _ forgotten about the Endbringers, the inexorable city-destroying monsters Taylor had told her about, in her excitement over superpowers. That was a sobering thought. 

“...I’m sorry. I got kind of carried away. I’ve had a rough couple weeks.”

Erin decided to extend a bit more trust. 

“It doesn’t seem as bad as yours, but this world... isn’t kind either. A few days ago, I... had to kill a Goblin chieftain.”

* * *

Erin spent the next half hour telling Taylor about the cruelties of this world. About how Relc had killed Goblin children to please her. About how guardsmen in this world saw fit to punish criminals with torture and death. About the dirty looks she kept getting in Liscor. About the blood on her hands. 

By the end, Erin was in tears. Taylor found herself comforting the other girl, feeling kind of guilty. 

The sun outside had long since set. It had been a long day, and both girls were tired, physically and emotionally. But both were comforted in having someone to relate to in this crazy, foreign world.

Erin showed Taylor to one of the rooms she had cleaned up a bit, apologizing for the dust still present. They both turned in for the night, resolving to talk more in the morning about what to do about their situation.

With how tired Taylor was, she fell asleep almost immediately. But not before a voice popped into her head. 

[Otherworldly Host Class Learned!]

[Otherworldly Host Level 1!]

[Skill — Increased Range Obtained!]

...Taylor decided she was way too tired to deal with this now, and let sleep claim her. 

* * *

  
Far off in a nearby dimension, a huge crystalline multidimensional entity was trying to figure out what had happened to its host. It had detected a surge of energy, followed by an inexplicable shift as it was forcibly _pulled_ into a new set of dimensions.

Saying it was panicking was not quite accurate, as human emotions were hard to apply to it. But it was very uncertain what to do in this unprecedented situation. It couldn’t sense any of the dimensions it had previously inhabited, or any of its kind in this dimension cluster. 

In the end, the shard decided to just continue its work collecting data. After all, it still had a connection to its host, and its surroundings had so much new data to analyze! What were those weird energy signatures, heavily concentrated on that island? And what was that signal coming...

[Otherworldly Passenger Class Learned!]

[Otherworldly Passenger Level 1!]

[Skill — Increased Efficiency Obtained!]

The shard paused as it felt its energy usage get cut in  half . After a brief check that everything else was normal, it turned to a new task. Now  _ this _ was something worth investigating. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is greatly appreciated! I especially am unsure about the classes and the last section; I’m not quite sure how shards/passengers work in Worm, and don’t love how they’re characterized in a lot of Worm fanfic, but I have some vague ideas of some interesting things I could do here.
> 
> EDIT: I checked over the Wandering Inn timeline, and changed the amount of time Erin’s been on Innworld to two weeks. For those curious, Taylor arrives close to the beginning of 1.21. I also added colors for the new classes and Skills.


	3. Liscor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Wandering Inn is written by pirateaba, and the Parahumans series is written by Wildbow. Both are excellent works that you should check out if you haven’t already, especially as there will be spoilers for both in this fic. All credit for characters and worldbuilding goes to those authors; I’m just playing in their sandboxes.
> 
> I've updated the title to something that *isn't* also the title of a short story, and have crossposted it to Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity, because it's Worm fanfic.
> 
> Also, huge thanks to Juff on the Cauldron Discord for beta'ing!

I woke up with the sun, and it took me a second to remember where I was. A fantasy, video game world. With Dragons, magic, and a city of Drakes and Gnolls. And, from Erin’s experiences, very dangerous, with deadly wildlife, violent Goblins, and “racist jerks”, as she put it. 

Then I remembered the voice I’d heard as I fell asleep. [Otherworldly Host]. What did that mean? I guess the “otherworldly” part was obvious — though Erin hadn’t mentioned being an [Otherworldly Innkeeper] — but “host”? What was I hosting?

It was clearly related to my power somehow. I had also gained a Skill — [Increased Range] — and I could feel the effects pretty clearly. My range had been around two blocks before coming to this world, and still had been before I leveled up. But now it was almost double that. 

I couldn’t really tell Erin about my class without also telling her about my power, which was  _ not _ happening. And, judging by the snores coming from the kitchen as I headed down the stairs, she wasn’t awake anyways. So, I decided to go for my usual morning run to clear my head. 

* * *

Most people would probably hesitate to go out for a run after almost being beheaded by a Rock Crab, and after hearing Erin’s horror stories of Goblin attacks. But most people couldn’t sense the area around them through insects, and command Acid Flies to bombard their foes. With my increased range, and armed with acid and the knowledge to avoid large rocks, I was prepared.

Honestly? Despite having been brought to an entirely different world against my will, I was feeling pretty good. Sure, this world seemed dangerous, but it was nothing compared to Endbringers. And what was I leaving behind? Betrayal, bullies, and a corrupt system that enabled them? A pipe dream of making a difference as a hero?

My only real regret was Dad. He had been distant ever since Mom’s death, but we were still family, and he still cared. I couldn’t bear to think of what my disappearance was doing to him now. If not for that? I struggled to find another reason I would want to return. 

But those thoughts were for another time. I had no clue how to even begin to find a way back home. For now, I had to focus on the present. 

I hadn’t gone jogging purely to keep up my routine. I had a goal in mind: spiders. Before coming to this world, I had mostly finished making my costume, and had been ready to go out as a hero. I now no longer had my costume, but I still had access to spiders. I wasn’t sure if I’d need a costume, now that I was no longer going to be going out as a cape, but I figured I might as well get started on the months-long process. Besides, armor seemed prudent for a medieval fantasy world.

There was no guarantee that the silk these spiders made was as sturdy as silk from black widows. But I was willing to bet the extremely tough carapaces I had sensed them having could make up for that if so. 

I gathered spiders from nests I passed on my jog. I made sure not to take too many from each nest, and also avoided taking any larger than a hand — I didn’t want to deal with giant spiders attacking the inn while I was away. I soon had tens of thousands of spiders following me in my swarm as I made my way back to the inn, spread out near the edge of my range so as to not attract attention. 

Nearing the inn, I had my swarm of spiders dig and settle into three nests, each as far from the inn as possible while still being comfortably within my range. I didn’t want Erin or any visitors to randomly stumble into a nest; I’d probably have to tell Erin I’d seen some camouflaged nests out in the plains to warn her. Each had a few thousand spiders, and I set them all to breeding, spinning webs, and harvesting carapaces to make armor. 

* * *

When I entered the inn, I was tackled almost off my feet as Erin hugged me. 

“Ohmygod I was so worried! I thought maybe the skeleton had come back and eaten you or something. Where were you?”

In hindsight, I probably should’ve tried to leave a note for Erin (not that I had seen anything to write with in the inn). It was... nice to have someone who cared about me, though. A friend, perhaps.

“I was just out jogging. It’s part of my morning routine to keep in shape.”

Erin didn’t look convinced.

“Don’t you remember what I said last night about how dangerous this world is? What if you got attacked by Rock Crabs, or Goblins?”

“I was fine! I made sure to avoid all the large rocks, and I doubt any Goblins would attack me after, uh, last week.”

I felt kind of guilty for lying to Erin, and making her worry about me. But I wasn’t about to tell her about my power.

I looked down at Erin to apologize, but paused as I noticed… were those bloody towels on the ground?

* * *

Apparently Erin was on her period, and there was nothing in the inn that remotely resembled a reasonable pad or tampon. So, with no other options, we headed off to Liscor.

Erin moved quite fast, the pain seeming to galvanize her into frenzied action. She practically dragged me into the city, blowing past the guard — what looked to be a humanoid lizard with yellow scales and a toga — with a snarl.  So that’s what Drakes looked like.

Erin led us in a beeline towards the market district, leaving me with little time for sightseeing. Everything was so foreign, from the strange inhabitants to the language. Liscor was brighter, in some sense, than the parts of Brockton Bay I was used to, without obvious signs of gang activity, or the abandoned and run-down buildings that came with a declining economy. It was close to what I might expect from a medieval city, with open-air marketplaces, and roads for horses and pedestrians. But it also had a working sewage system that I could sense with my bugs, and was in general pretty clean.

As we walked past homes, shops, and what appeared to be a bathhouse, I got my first look at what were presumably Gnolls. They looked like large, bipedal hyenas, all at least 6 feet tall, with large round ears and bushy tails. Thankfully, I hadn’t sensed many cases of fleas as part of my swarm; I didn’t really want such… personal… detail.

The bugs in the city were pretty normal compared to what I had encountered out in the plains. I still didn’t recognize any of the species as identical to ones from Earth, but there weren’t any acid flies or giant spiders. The insect population was pretty similar to what I was used to back home, actually.

I was interrupted from my musings as Erin pushed past a Drake with sky blue scales — Olesm, I think she called him, the Drake she’d beaten at chess. He had a dejected look, and seemed to know Erin, so I decided to take pity on him and slowed to talk.

“Sorry, Olesm, right? Erin’s in kind of a bad mood. We’re looking for pads, or tampons, if you have them.”

“I unfortunately do not know of these ‘pads’ or ‘tampons’ you speak of, Miss…”

“Taylor. Cloth pads, the softer the better, to help with… bleeding in a sensitive area?”

I really didn’t want to have to explain human biology in the middle of a crowded street.

“Hm, have you tried the Adventurer’s Guild? They have a supply of bandages.”

“Thanks. Sorry again about Erin; we’re in a hurry, and she’s in a lot of pain.”

“Not at all, Miss Taylor. Are you an acquaintance of Miss Solstice? Do you by chance also play chess?”

The Drake had a hopeful gleam in his eyes. I felt kinda awkward, caught between an eager Drake and an Erin that was rapidly approaching the edge of my range.

“Yes, but not nearly as well as Erin. Sorry, but I, uh, better get going, and catch up to Erin before she gets too far. If you want to play more chess against her, maybe you could come visit? She lives in the inn outside the city.”

Olesm looked thoughtful as he waved me off.

* * *

I found Erin squatting on the ground, head buried in her arms, next to one of the stalls in the marketplace. She was  _ fast _ when determined. The shoppers and shopkeepers were all staring at her. What had she done?

“Hey, Erin. You doing alright?”

She looked up, her face flushed red with embarrassment.

“Yeah. Apparently Drakes and Gnolls don’t have the same… biology as us humans. I kinda… shouted a bit. Sorry again about that.”

The last bit was directed at the Gnoll shopkeeper running the stall, who let out a bark of laughter in response.

“No need to apologize, Erin Solstice. Shouting is good, yes? And who’s your friend here? It is strange seeing one human in Liscor, let alone two.”

“Hi, uh, nice to meet you. I’m Taylor. Taylor Hebert. Did you have any…”

“Pads? Unfortunately not, Taylor Hebert. I am Krshia, shopkeeper of this stall. Erin told me of her plight. Are you also in need of these pads?”

It was my turn to be embarrassed.

“N-no, it’s not that time of the month for me yet. Erin, I talked to Olesm a bit, and he said the Adventurer’s Guild has bandages you could maybe use.”

“Yes, that is what I was just telling Erin; I believe she was waiting for you to catch up before heading off. I was surprised to hear of another human in Liscor; we don’t get many around here. At least you smell less bad.”

“...Thanks?”

I wasn’t sure what to think of that. Erin had mentioned being shunned in part for how she smelled to sensitive Gnoll noses. But Krshia seemed friendly enough, if her smile was a bit toothy.

Erin stood up and stretched.

“We should probably get going, Taylor. I  _ really _ want those bandages. Thanks again for the help Krshia, and sorry for making a scene.”

We left a bemused Krshia as we headed for the Adventurer’s Guild.

* * *

As we entered the Adventurer’s Guild, we were stopped by a large Gnoll. He loomed over us, snarling.

“ _ Humans _ . I warned you last time, and you come back with another? Leave this place; you stink of blood.”

I could smell his rancid breath as he leaned over us menacingly. He didn’t have the best hygiene; I could sense a small cluster of fleas on his back. Erin had told me about how she had been treated in Liscor, but it was another thing to experience it myself. He reminded me of home, of Winslow. He was a  _ bully _ , plain and simple. I had backed away a bit, involuntarily, as bad memories surfaced.

Erin, however, was too desperate and fed up to be scared.

“Get out of the way, you jerk! I’m not in the mood to be bullied.”

The Gnoll refused to move, and he and Erin locked gazes. All of my instincts were telling me to run, to get  _ away _ from the situation, that fighting back was useless, but Erin held firm. After a minute, the Gnoll relented. He stomped away, murmuring under his breath.

“ _ Humans. _ ”

I was impressed, and said so to Erin.

“He’s just a bully. I was more afraid last week, but after the Goblin Chieftain…”

I admired that. I had been hoping that going out as a cape would help put the bullying and school drama behind me. I could imagine that, after what she’d been through, bullies seemed pretty trivial to Erin.

Erin introduced me to Selys, the receptionist. Thankfully, the Adventurer’s Guild did indeed have bandages, and Selys offered to stitch some into reusable pads. While they chatted as Selys stitched, I wandered around the Guild.

Adventurers. People who accepted quests for killing monsters or raiding dungeons. People trained in combat, with fantastical powers that came from levels and Skills. A job straight out of the fantasy novels I used to read. Probably the closest thing this world had to Earth Bet’s heroes. 

Erin had found an inn, and gained levels in [Innkeeper]. She was making a place for herself here, and had a possible source of income. What did I have? I had been a girl in the middle of high school, with not much in the way of job skills. I hadn’t even begun to think of my future before I had gotten powers. And after, I had fully committed to the life of a cape, of trying to make a difference as a hero. Now I couldn’t be a hero, but perhaps an adventurer was the next best thing. It felt right.

I walked up to a wooden board on one side of the room where a bunch of the adventurers were clustered. It was covered in parchments of all sizes, most of which were surprisingly in English. Perhaps there were two written languages here?

Each parchment detailed a request, along with the bounty offered for the job. Most involved killing monsters, but there were a few that looked to be requests for bodyguards. Most had hand-drawn pictures of the monsters in question. The most common requests were for Goblins and Shield Spiders — apparently that was what the spiders I’d brought back to the inn were called — but I also saw one for some kind of bee, and another very high-paying request for “Crelers”.

I felt the nearby adventurers’ eyes on me, disapproving, as I looked over the board. I probably looked very out of place. The adventurers were all Drakes or Gnolls. Most had armor, and all of them had some sort of weapon visible. I was a lanky teenage human girl who was still shorter than most of them despite my height, and had nothing to my name.

I backed away, murmuring an apology. The eyes lingered on me for a bit longer as I walked back over to Erin and Selys. I wasn’t ready yet to become an adventurer. I still needed to finish my armor, and figure out if and how I could do this without revealing my power.

As I had been looking around, Selys had finished stitching the pads. Erin paid for them, and after a brief trip to the bathroom, we left. Looking back at the Adventurer’s Guild, I made a promise to myself. Someday, I would be back. I’d make a name for myself here, as an adventurer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out. I'm going to be quite busy with school for the rest of this week, but hopefully I can find the time to write more this weekend.
> 
> Feedback, as always, is greatly appreciated.


	4. Guests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Wandering Inn is written by pirateaba, and the Parahumans series by Wildbow. Both are available for free online, and are very good. Credit for characters and worldbuilding goes to those amazing authors; I’m just playing in their sandbox. If you haven’t read either of those, go read them instead!
> 
> Huge thanks to Juff and one of my roommates for beta'ing!

As the sun began to set, two girls walked out of Liscor, heading towards the inn in the distance. One was short, with reddish-brown hair, and was dressed in a cloth tunic and pants. The other was tall and lanky, with long, curly black hair. She wore a hoodie and jeans — foreign clothes from another world. It was a strange sight; there weren’t many humans south of the High Passes, and almost all that did venture near Liscor were merchants.

The shorter one spoke loudly as they walked, gesturing wildly.

“Why is being an [Innkeeper] so haaaaaaard? I thought all you had to do was have an inn, cook food, wait tables, talk to people about their problems…  no wait, that last one was bartenders . And my cooking is fine! Maybe a bit bland, but Relc, Klbkch, and Pisces like it! I mean, Klbkch can’t eat the pasta, that two-faced jerk, but...”

Taylor listened, nodding along absently as Erin rambled on, complaining about her horrible clientele. Erin was a bit much at times — like right now — but it was nice to at least have someone to talk to. The constant chatter reminded Taylor a bit of her younger self, when she could go on for hours on end about everything to do with capes.

“Selys is right. I need something special to attract more customers. Maybe blue fruit juice? Pisces said it was from some poisonous fruit or something, and Relc and Klbkch didn’t seem to recognize it, so maybe no one’s tried to make blue fruit juice before.

Suddenly, Taylor was distracted as a cluster of bugs entered her range. She had gotten within range of the inn, and inside it was a swarm of acid flies, centered around what appeared to be the remnants of the bloody towel and pants Erin had left on the floor. They seemed to be  _ melting _ the dirty cloths, as well as the surrounding floorboards and table legs, by rubbing their acid-filled abdomens against them.

She paused, a bit nauseous, but continued walking after a moment to collect herself. She didn’t want to give Erin any reason to be suspicious of her power, so she would have to play this carefully. The acid flies were dangerous, but she couldn’t just have them evacuate the inn now, as it was too late to remove the smoking mess they had made. Best to not have Erin wondering what had happened. So, she resolved to let Erin at least see the acid flies.

Erin was the first to the door, opening it to the gruesome sight inside. The acid flies, prompted by Taylor, flew away, streaming out through an open window.

“Ew, gross! You’ve  _ got _ to be kidding me!”

* * *

An hour later, Taylor and Erin had finished cleaning up the mess, and, with the help of Erin’s [Basic Crafting] skill, repairing the floorboards. Erin went to take a bath in the stream, while Taylor stayed behind. Unfortunately, their clothing sizes were very different, and they hadn’t thought to buy more clothes for Taylor in their rush to find pads, so Taylor was stuck with only her dirty sweater and jeans.

Taylor was sitting at a table, staring off into space while she concentrated on managing her spiders’ breeding and armor production, when Erin ran into the inn, a smug look on her face. She started gathering together materials — a bucket, a knife, and some glass jars — as she explained her idea to Taylor.

“You want to do  _ what _ ?”

* * *

Erin was crazy. Taylor hadn’t been sure until now, but this sealed it. She was completely, batshit insane, and probably would’ve died to acid flies without Taylor around. Only Erin would look at flies with abdomens full of acid, and think, “Hey, wouldn’t it be a great idea to catch some?” And she had even been chastising Taylor earlier for going jogging, the hypocrite.

At the very least, with Taylor around, there was very little chance of anything going wrong. She’d still have to be careful not to make the acid flies seem too unnatural, or too complacent; who knew what Erin would do if she was led to believe that acid flies wouldn’t harm a hair on her head?

Taylor watched from a distance as Erin went about making acid flytraps out of the jars, feigning a completely reasonable fear for her life as an excuse not to help. She had to admit, Erin was very resourceful. But there was a line between being resourceful and being suicidal, and she wasn’t sure which side of that line Erin fell.

The trapsetting went on without a hitch. Taylor was honestly surprised she hadn’t needed to step in at any point; the traps were working properly, and none of the flies were escaping or attacking Erin, even without Taylor’s guidance. As the girls walked back to the inn, Taylor subtly nudged flies in the area over towards the traps. They would be full in no time.

* * *

Taylor was back to managing her spiders while Erin cooked pasta in the kitchen. There really wasn’t much else to do, with no homework to keep busy with or books to read. She had offered to help in the kitchen, but Erin had said she preferred cooking alone; and besides, Taylor didn’t have [Basic Cooking].

Her armor was coming along much faster than she had expected. She had around ten times as many Shield Spiders here as she’d had spiders back home. In addition, she’d found that Shield Spider carapaces, especially from the larger spiders she’d collected, were much more effective at making armor than the shells and exoskeletons of normal insects. She estimated that her new armor might even be completed within the week.

Taylor was distracted from her spiders as, through her other bugs, she sensed someone approaching. She could tell they were dressed in robes, but not much else with her bugs’ limited senses in the dimming light. When the knock came, Taylor was already standing up and headed for the door.

She opened the door to find a young man about to knock again. He looked — and smelled — like a homeless man dressed as a mage. He was unhealthily thin, as if he hadn’t had a good meal in weeks. His mop of brown hair was unkempt, and his skin an almost deathly pale white. The haughty look on his face slipped briefly into one of faint surprise as he saw Taylor; he had probably been expecting Erin.

“Greetings. I am Pisces, a mage of great renown. Is the [Innkeeper] of this establishment in? I wish to partake in a meal.”

Even without the introduction, Taylor probably could have guessed who he was. Erin had complained about  _ him _ the most out of her three regulars.

“Erin, Pisces is here!”

“Tell the jerk to find a seat; I’ll be right out with food!”

Taylor let Pisces in, and they both sat at one of the tables. They stared at each other awkwardly, waiting for dinner to be ready. Pisces coughed.

“I do not believe I have seen you before, miss. May I ask your name?”

“Taylor.”

They lapsed back into silence. Pisces glanced around the room, eyes settling on the chess board setup on one of the other tables, still left out from Erin and Taylor’s game. He raised his eyebrows in faint surprise.

“Do you perchance play chess, Miss Taylor? It is quite a novel game; I am surprised to find a chess board this far south. Not to boast, but I was considered to be one of the best players in the northern cities.”

Taylor glanced up at his smug face. He totally did mean to boast. She’d only met him for a few minutes, and he was already starting to get on her nerves. His habit of speaking as if through a thesaurus was especially grating. She felt like he was constantly looking down on everyone on everything around him, trying to seem impressive. Perhaps it was to make up for his distinctly unimpressive appearance.

“I know the rules. Erin’s much better, though; you should play her.”

Taylor had no doubt Erin would win. She imagined Pisces was probably exaggerating his skill. And if chess really had only recently been invented in this world, she couldn’t imagine his understanding of chess strategy could compare to Erin’s experience. She’d enjoy seeing Pisces knocked down a peg.

“Pisces, you play chess? You should’ve told me earlier! I love chess!”

Erin had evidently heard their conversation, and hurried out of the kitchen in excitement, dinner forgotten. As the two talked and set up the chessboard for a game — apparently with a small wager on the line — Taylor noticed two figures approaching through her bugs. One was a Drake — even through her bugs, she could tell from the tail — and the other was…

_ Thunk. _

Erin and Pisces looked up from their game as Taylor fainted, falling from her chair.

* * *

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon, two Senior Guardsmen walked out of Liscor, heading towards the inn in the distance. One was a Drake with light green scales, carrying a large spear. He was well built, and stood a head above his partner at six and a half feet tall. The other was an Antinium, almost indistinguishable from the Workers in his Hive. Not a common sight to see, even in Liscor, though Klbkch was widely recognized throughout the city as one of the best and most reliable Guardsmen.

Relc and Klbkch hadn’t planned on visiting Erin today, as they had duties as Senior Guardsmen to fulfill. But, when they’d heard of  _ another _ human in Liscor, who was apparently  _ also _ an acquaintance of the [Innkeeper], they’d convinced Watch Captain Zevara to send them to check in on the situation. After all, you had to make sure this new human wasn’t some scoundrel like that damn Pisces. And if they spent more time there than necessary, well, Zevara didn’t need to know that.

“Did you hear the rumors going around, Klb? Apparently, human females can spit blood! And I heard our [Innkeeper] beat up a Gnoll adventurer on her own!”

“I would not believe everything I hear, Relc. And I think it would be best not to bring up such rumors in front of Miss Solstice. We are here as Senior Guardsmen; we must be professional.”

“I know, I know.”

Relc’s stomach let out a loud growl.

“Come on Klb, let’s hurry up; I’m famished! I hope Erin’s made a lot of pasta.”

The two of them picked up their pace.

The inn had just come into view when Klbkch felt a sharp stab of pain in his head, staggering as his mind was assaulted by an unknown force. It felt… familiar. It reminded him of the Unitasis Networks that True Antinium used to communicate, but perverted — used to attack, to control. Klbkch put up his mental barriers, cutting off his connection to his Queen, preparing to fight back…

But as quickly as the attack came, it was gone, leaving Klbkch wary, but intrigued. His Queen was no doubt panicking over his sudden disappearance from their mental connection, but he would keep his mind closed until he determined the source and nature of the attack. It had definitely originated from the inn. What awaited them there? Klbkch had a thought… but no. There was no reason for a True Antinium to be  _ here _ , and no True Antinium would attack another like that.

“Woah there, Klb, you okay?”

“Yes. Relc, I simply tripped. Let us hurry; it is getting dark, and you are, as you put it, ‘famished’.”

“You bet I am!”

Klbkch decided it would not be prudent to involve Relc for now. He hadn’t seemed to notice the mental attack, and was more suited for physical confrontations, anyways. And besides, with the nature of the attack… this was a matter for Klbkchhezeim the Slayer, Prognugator of the Free Antinium.

* * *

In a nearby dimension, a shard shifted, distracted from its data analysis by an error notification from one of its subprocesses. Apparently, the subprocess it had dedicated to managing its connection to its host had encountered an unknown lifeform. The subprocess had managed to analyze the lifeform’s biology and neurology, and had gathered data on how the lifeform operated. But, when it had tried to take control of the lifeform’s nervous system, it had been repelled, with such force that the backlash had caused a stroke in its host.

Despite the interruption to its analysis of the strange energy signatures in this dimension, the shard was ecstatic. Patching up its host was easy to do, as well as altering its subprocess to not attempt to control that species in the future. But all that was overshadowed by the astounding data it had gathered!

Apparently, the lifeform had methods to interface with similar lifeform’s nervous systems. And the way it went about doing so was ingenious! Much more efficient and secure than the method the entity had been using. The shard started redesigning its subprocesses, incorporating this new data. Once it was satisfied — the entire process had taken a few milliseconds — it went back to studying those energy signatures.

But not before another signal arrived.

[Otherworldly Passenger Level 2!]

[Skill — Unitasis Network Obtained!]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops I probably should've been working more on classwork, but here's another chapter! Feedback is, as always, highly appreciated.


	5. Powers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Wandering Inn is written by pirateaba, and the Parahumans series by Wildbow. Both are available for free online, and are very good. Credit for characters and worldbuilding goes to those amazing authors; I’m just playing in their sandbox. If you haven’t read either of those, go read them instead!
> 
> Huge thanks to Juff for beta'ing!

I woke up on the floor of the inn to three voices. Two of them were arguing. The loud noises weren’t helping my burgeoning headache.

“You’re a mage! Can’t you like, cast a healing spell or something?”

“My area of expertise is necromancy, and not the healing arts, as you well know, Miss Solstice. Besides, Miss Taylor here seems to be in perfectly good condition, despite being unconscious. Are you sure she didn’t just keel over from exhaustion or stress?”

“She seemed fine earlier!”

The third voice had sounded in my head as soon as I had become aware.

[Skill — Unitasis Network Obtained!]

“Ah, I do believe she is waking up. How are you feeling, Miss Taylor?”

I sat up slowly, groaning and clutching my throbbing head. What had happened? What was a ‘Unitasis Network’? The last thing I remembered was sensing two figures approaching the inn through my swarm, a Drake and a…

I noticed my swarm. All the insects under my control were completely still. Even the trapped acid flies, cramped in their jars, had stopped moving. It seemed this new Skill had again changed my power, this time much more drastically than just an increased range.

Before, my control over my swarm had been like a tool. I could give my bugs general instructions, or focus to exert more individual and precise control. I had some limited senses through my bugs, but nothing great; I could tell their positions very well, but senses like sight and sound were sparse, and extremely hard to wrap my mind around.

But now, my swarm felt… different. More like a part of me, an extension of my body. I could feel the instincts and senses of each and every insect in my swarm. I had noticed some increased ability to multitask with my bugs before, but now I got the sense that, if I tried, I could maybe control all my bugs individually and precisely, all at the same time. It was as if I had been moving through molasses with my power before now.

Even more strikingly, I was now bombarded by the senses of millions of different perspectives. Their senses worked differently from a human’s — no color, for instance — but sight and touch, at least, were similar enough for me to parse. I could see from the eyes of thousands of acid flies trapped in jars. I could feel the soil around hundreds of worms. I could see a Drake and what looked to be a human-sized ant — though it wasn’t part of my swarm, so who knew — walking towards the inn. I could feel countless blades of grass shifting in the wind, underneath countless insectoid bodies. I could…!

My headache grew unbearable as my brain struggled to handle the sensory overload. It was the locker all over again. Overcome with pain, I shut my eyes again, trying to shut out my swarm. It was too much. Human brains weren’t meant for this; I felt like mine was about to burst. And in my pain, I instinctively cut the connection.

...

Suddenly, I was alone, my headache letting up a bit. It was jarring to say the least, going from a deeper connection to my swarm than I had ever felt, to nothing. Ever since I had gotten my power, it had been a constant sense in the back of my head. I could always feel the bugs around me, even if I wasn’t using them for anything. And bugs were everywhere; I didn’t think I had ever had fewer than a thousand in my swarm.

Now, I could feel nothing but my own body. After so long with my swarm, I felt… blind. Vulnerable. But also, more human. Without the senses from my swarm, my own senses were more pronounced. I was more aware of the smell of pasta wafting from the kitchen, and the smell of Pisces’ dirty clothes. Of Erin’s concerned voice, asking if I was okay. Of the feel of the wooden floor beneath me, and the dull pain of my headache.

I had hoped to find a fresh start here, away from my problems. But now, even my power, the one thing I had been relying on to stay constant, was betraying me. Things I had been ignoring were coming back to me now. Doubts I had tried not to think about. Everything was changing so quickly. I was in another world, where everything was unfamiliar. Dad had broken down after Mom had died; how must my disappearance be affecting him?

I didn’t like how exposed I felt. I could still feel my power in the back of my head, restrained. I yearned to use it, to have my swarm back, to not have to be just an awkward teenage girl, far out of her depth. But my head still ached, and even thinking about what I’d seen — the deluge of information that had flooded my brain — hurt. I would have to take this slowly.

When I opened my eyes again, they were wet with tears. When had that happened? I saw a fly — a normal one, not filled with acid — buzzing around the room. Weird, to see an insect, and not have control of it. I shuddered.

Erin noticed my coming to, and was immediately at my side.

“Are you okay? Do you want some water?”

“It’s j-just a migraine. Really bad one. Water would be great.”

I managed to croak out a response. My throat was  _ parched _ .

“Alright, I’ll go get some for you. I should probably also check on the pasta; it’s probably a bit overcooked by now. I don’t think the inn has any aspirin, or ice packs…  what else do you use to treat a headache ?”

Erin mumbled to herself as she went towards the kitchen. She returned with a glass of water, as well as a plate of pasta.

“I’m sorry we don’t have anything better. This world  _ sucks _ . Pasta’s ready, though.”

As I ate, I felt much better. My headache had lessened, though it hadn’t gone away completely. Erin and Pisces were eating at the table next to me, continuing their game of chess. Pisces ate like a starved man, only barely avoiding getting food everywhere. He stared intently at the chessboard, brow creasing in concentration. Erin kept glancing between him and me, switching between looking a bit disgusted at Pisces’ table manners, to looking at me with concern. She didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the chess game, but it looked like she was ahead.

While they played, I tentatively tried reaching out to my swarm again, slowly relaxing my grip on my power. I became aware again of all the insects around me, within my recently increased range. But my awareness was only that. I could tell where all the bugs were, but I wouldn’t call them part of my swarm. I had no control over them, and couldn’t use their senses, beyond their positions. It seemed this was now the default state of my power. Whereas before I controlled my swarm passively, now control was active.

There was a knock at the door, pulling me out of my reverie. Erin got up to open it, letting in the Drake and the humanoid ant I had sensed earlier. She brightened at the sight.

“Relc! Klbkch! You’re just in time for dinner! And you can meet my friend, Taylor. She’s a human, like me!”

I winced at the loud noise. Erin, who had been pointing back at me, winced in sympathy.

“Oh, sorry, Taylor.” She turned back to the two new guests, voice lower. “She’s not having a great time right now. Headache.”

So these were the guardsmen that Erin had told me about meeting. Erin served Relc a heaping plate of pasta and introduced me to them, talking animatedly, but quietly. The two gave Pisces dirty looks, but stopped when Erin reprimanded them. As the conversation turned to chess, I went back to nursing my headache, and carefully exploring the new aspects of my power.

I started small, extending control over the fly I’d seen buzzing around the inn. As I did, it paused, landing on the floor. Its senses were now mine; I could feel its legs on the floorboards, and see the inn through its eyes. It had other senses, but I couldn’t quite make sense of those. 

Thankfully, my headache wasn’t getting any worse. It seemed like I could handle the senses of at least one bug. I experimentally flew the fly around, testing out my control. Again, it felt finer than before, more direct. I could feel its instincts being suppressed by my power, and I let go. It continued flying around the room, now under its own instincts. But, it was still under my control, and I could still see through its eyes. It was still part of my swarm, part of  _ me _ .

Next, I tried cutting off the fly’s senses, without losing control. To my surprise, doing so was really easy. I could still tell where the fly was, and still had fine control over it, but no longer saw through its eyes. It was a strange feeling, directing it to fly around without being able to see where it was going. Hopefully, this would allow me to go back to having a swarm,  _ without _ the headache.

As I was experimenting with my power, I caught Klbkch staring at me. At least, I thought he was staring. He didn’t seem to ever blink, and it was hard to tell where he was looking with his insectoid eyes, but he visibly  _ twitched _ whenever I shifted. What was his problem? Sure, humans were a rare sight around here, but it was unsettling being stared at by an unblinking, humanoid insect.

We were interrupted from our impromptu staring competition by Erin.

“Oh, Klbkch, by the way: is it true that Antinium eat bugs?”

* * *

Erin ended up taking Pisces, Relc, and Klbkch outside to see the acid fly traps she had made. It had grown dark, but the jars were visible even from the inn, as they were filled with insects with glowing green acid in their abdomens. 

I stayed behind, partly due to my headache, and partly because I wanted to keep experimenting with my power. I began slowly adding bugs to my swarm, making sure not to tap into any of their senses. I started with the bugs closest to the inn, adding them one at a time, and setting them to act normally. As my swarm grew, my headache actually lessened, and so I became more confident. I started adding ten bugs at a time, then a hundred, then a thousand. I avoided the acid flies, as I hadn’t quite figured out how to add an insect to my swarm without the initial pause, and I didn’t want the others to notice anything weird.

I had just finished getting used to managing the Shield Spiders to make armor without using their senses, when I sensed one of the acid fly jars… moving. What? I focused on the senses of the bugs in the area, headache flaring up a bit. I couldn’t see much in the dim light, but I could barely make out Erin lifting one of the jars, carrying it towards the inn. Too late, I realized where her path was taking her.

I could do nothing as Erin tripped. The trap she had tripped on stayed stable, as it was anchored to the ground, but the jar she was carrying flew out of her arms. Time seemed to slow as the jar arced through the air, falling to the ground with a crash.

I acted quickly, taking control of the flies. I could feel their instincts. After being trapped for hours, they were hungry. And with a swarm this large, they could devastate the surrounding area, leaving a swath of acid. I forced them to disperse, to fly off in all directions, to  _ not _ start rubbing acid all over the nearest food source. And it took effort.

It turned out the more intimate connection I shared with my swarm went both ways. With just one bug, or even with the jumble of disparate bugs that usually made up my swarm, the instincts were easy to ignore, and easy to override. But with me focusing on thousands of acid flies, all united in their desire to  _ eat _ , I had to concentrate to force them away.

In the end, I managed to clear the swarm. My headache had grown a bit again, but was quickly clearing up as I rested. Erin and her guests were walking back to the inn; this time Relc was the one carrying a jar. Erin had probably been deemed too clumsy. They returned, and Erin started shaking the jar to kill the flies inside. I winced as I felt the flies dying. That woman really had no fear.

I felt Klbkch’s eyes on me again. Somehow, he seemed to be staring even more intently at me than before. Despite his alien features, I got the distinct feeling that he was trying to dissect me with his eyes, to see what made me tick. Without taking his eyes off me, he spoke.

“Miss Solstice, will you excuse me and your friend here for a second? I would like to talk to her in private. I have… business with her, pertaining to my Hive.”

That was ominous. I didn’t particularly want to be alone with Klbkch. His stares hadn’t seemed the most friendly, and the swords at his side looked awfully sharp.

“No offense, but I… don’t really feel comfortable with that. You’ve been staring at me ever since you got here, and it’s been really creeping me out.”

“I am sorry for making you uncomfortable, Miss Hebert. I was just… intrigued. One does not see many humans around Liscor. We could use a corner of this room, perhaps? It is quite large, so we would have our privacy, while not being truly alone.”

Erin put her hands on her hips, giving Klbkch a stern look. Then she looked to me, her eyes softening and creasing with worry.

“Don’t you know it’s rude to stare, Klbkch? Taylor, I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it. He’s a big softie! Too nice, sometimes. You should go talk; I’ll keep an eye on him if he keeps being creepy.”

Erin tried her best at a menacing glare. It didn’t seem too intimidating to me, but Klbkch looked appropriately bashful.

“Please allow me to apologize again, Miss Hebert. But the matter is quite urgent, and quite important. If you will?”

I still didn’t trust Klbkch. Erin trusted him, and her experiences with him that she’d told me about had put him in a very positive light, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t like me. However, another thought had occurred to me, tempting me despite my distrust. My memories were a bit fuzzy, but I was pretty sure that I had fainted at around the same time Klbkch and Relc had entered my range. I hadn’t thought much of it at first, but Klbkch’s strange behavior had reminded me of that fact. Perhaps this urgent business of his was related, somehow, to the change in my power. He was, after all, an oversized insect.

Klbkch stood up, inviting me to follow. I hesitated, but in the end, curiosity won out. We walked over to one of the tables in a far corner of the inn, and sat. He stared intently at me for a full minute before speaking. And when he finally did speak, his tone was harsher, the clicks in his speech more pronounced. He sounded more alien, and less like the friendly guardsman he’d been around Erin, 

“I will cut to the chase. As my partner and I approached the inn, I was mentally attacked by an unknown force, originating from the inn, that then vanished. When we arrived, I sensed it again, but calmer. Smaller. Now growing.  _ You _ .”

I gulped. I was right. This  _ was _ related to my power, and Klbkch  _ knew _ .

”Who  _ are _ you, Taylor Hebert, and why does a  _ human _ have a Unitasis Network?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit of a pain to write, with all the internal monologuing about powers. Hopefully it turned out well! Feedback, is, as always, greatly appreciated.


	6. Klbkch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Wandering Inn is written by pirateaba, and the Parahumans series by Wildbow. Both are available for free online, and are very good. Credit for characters and worldbuilding goes to those amazing authors; I’m just playing in their sandbox. If you haven’t read either of those, go read them instead!
> 
> Huge thanks to Juff and BinaryApotheosis for beta'ing!

It had been a long day for Erin. She had panicked when she’d woken up to her period, and panicked further when she’d realized Taylor was missing. And almost immediately after Taylor had returned from her jog, they had gone to Liscor. Between looking for pads, cleaning up after the acid flies, making traps for the flies, cooking dinner for Taylor and her regulars, tending to Taylor after she’d fainted, and finally harvesting the flies, Erin had barely had any time to rest.

But now, finally, she could relax, and play chess! She sat across from Pisces, who was frowning at the board. Relc was watching on from the next table over — she’d banned him from getting close to the chess set while eating — and cheered every time she took one of Pisces’ pieces. Which happened quite a lot. Pisces had boasted of his skills, but like Olesm, he seemed to lack basic understanding of chess theory, and his tactics weren’t as good.

As Erin waited for Pisces to move, she absently stared at the two jars she’d placed on a nearby table. One was filled with acid, the other with dead flies — the fruits of her labor. She still didn’t know what she’d do with the former, but the latter she would cook and serve to Klbkch, after he finished talking to Taylor.

Erin idly glanced over to the pair, where they sat in the far corner of the inn. They… didn’t actually seem to be talking. Just staring. Weird. She felt bad for encouraging Taylor to talk with Klbkch when the girl seemed to feel uncomfortable around him, but Klbkch really was a good person under that hard, alien exoskeleton and those insectoid, unblinking eyes. She was still a bit mad at him for paying for pasta his body couldn’t even digest.

And as for Taylor… Erin was worried about the younger girl. Erin had tried her best to connect with her, but Taylor had been very reserved. She knew surprisingly little about Taylor, given that they had talked for hours the previous night. Most of that conversation had been about Taylor’s world, Earth Bet, and its differences from Erin’s — most notably the existence of superpowers. Taylor had mentioned being in high school, but that had been the extent of the personal details she’d shared. Erin didn’t even know how old Taylor was!

Taylor did seem to be taking being in another world remarkably well, though. Or, at least, Erin had thought that before Taylor had suddenly fainted. The other girl had brushed off Erin’s concern over her, and that had only made Erin even more worried. What had happened? Was it some medical condition? Was it just from the stress of being in an unfamiliar place? Whatever it was, Taylor clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

Pisces coughed, his sardonic voice interrupting her thoughts. He had forked two of her pieces with his knight, and was looking at her triumphantly.

“I believe it is your move, Miss Solstice. Do you fancy yourself such a prodigy that you need not study the board?”

“Oh, sorry about that; I got lost in thought. Um, let’s see… Check.”

Pisces’ smirk turned into a frown at her move. He clearly hadn’t thought of that. As he studied the board with even more intensity than before, Erin turned her thoughts back to Taylor. Whatever the other girl’s problems were, Erin resolved to do her best to support her. She didn’t want Taylor to have to go through what she had.

* * *

On the other side of the inn, Klbkch regarded the Human girl in front of him. She didn’t look particularly dangerous — she had no visible weapons, and was a full head shorter than Klbkch — but Klbkch’s [Appraise Foe] Skill told him otherwise. This was not someone to be trifled with. Klbkch had the sense that, if it came to a fight, he would be favored, but it wouldn’t be easy. And anyone who could hold their own against  _ him _ , even with his weakened state, was noteworthy.

And Klbkch suspected he knew where the danger lay. After he and Relc had arrived at the inn with no hint of the mental attack returning, Klbkch had lowered his mental defenses. That’s when he had sensed her. Somehow, a human that was part of a Unitasis Network. He could feel her mind, as clearly as he could feel his Queen demanding to know why he’d disappeared. He could tell it was the same mind that had attacked him, but… it had changed. It was no longer the perverse, violent thing he had felt battering at his mind. It still felt different than the Antinium minds he was used to — he’d have been surprised if a Human mind  _ didn’t _ feel different — but it was peaceful, at least. He still hadn’t dared to reach out.

He had relayed to his Queen what he had found. Surprisingly, she hadn’t been able to sense the Human. Was it because he had been attacked? Was it because he was Centenium? His Queen had initially wanted to respond to the attack on her Prognugator with force, but Klbkch had reminded her that they needed to maintain good relations with Liscor, and that the Human hadn’t shown any further signs of aggression.

In the end, they had agreed that he should confront Taylor Hebert with caution. With her strange clothes and sudden appearance, it was likely that she was from the same world as the [Innkeeper]. Were more on their way? Was she a threat? Or, perhaps, could she be an asset to the Antinium? If nothing else, studying how her Unitasis Network interacted with theirs would be interesting.

A faint shout of dismay from Pisces across the room broke Klbkch out of his thoughts. Best get on with it.

“I will cut to the chase. As my partner and I approached the inn, I was mentally attacked by an unknown force, originating from the inn, that then vanished. When we arrived, I sensed it again, but calmer. Smaller. Now growing.  _ You _ .”

The girl had twitched as Klbkch had started speaking. And her eyes had widened as he’d described the attack.  _ So she did know something. _

”Who  _ are _ you, Taylor Hebert, and why does a  _ Human _ have a Unitasis Network?”

The girl looked afraid now. Good. Klbkch did not agree with his Queen’s eagerness for retaliation, but a little fear went a long way.

Taylor took a few seconds to respond.

“H-how do you know the name of my Skill?”

“Because it is a technique developed by the Antinium. And we have never shared it, nor come across any other species with knowledge of it, though perhaps the Humans in your world are different — yes, I know you and Erin are not from this world. So,  _ tell me _ , Taylor Hebert, how  _ you _ came to possess such a Skill.”

That she had it as a Skill was… interesting. Klbkch had never heard of an Antinium who had it as a Skill. It was a part of how their minds worked, a part of their biology. It was as natural to Antinium as having a good sense of smell was to Gnolls.

“I… I don’t know. I was hoping you’d know, actually. I collapsed earlier, probably around the time you were attacked, and woke up with the Skill.”

At that, Klbkch’s [Detect Guilt] Skill went off. And even without it, he was already suspicious. Her story made no sense; she was definitely hiding something.

“One does not simply  _ wake up with a Skill _ , especially not one like that. It must be the product of some effort, and must fit some want or need of yours. So, for the last time, tell me, without omitting  _ anything _ , why you have this Skill.”

The girl opened her mouth, then closed it. This happened a few times, as she tried to formulate a response. Finally, she gave her answer.

“...Fine. I guess I don’t have much choice, and I do want to figure out what’s going on here as much as you do. Please don’t tell anyone, including Erin?”

This was good. Cooperation, even if reluctant, was much preferable to the alternatives. As he spoke, Klbkch activated his [Reassuring Presence] Skill. Taylor relaxed at his calmer tone.

“I will share everything you tell me with my Queen, Miss Hebert. And as a Senior Guardsman of Liscor, I am duty-bound to inform Liscor of any dangers to the city. But so long as you are not a threat to Liscor, your secrets are safe with the Antinium. You have my word, as Prognugator.”

And so, Taylor told Klbkch about powers. About how, in the world full of Humans she had come from, instead of obtaining classes and Skills, a small fraction of the population were bestowed with fantastical abilities. And unlike classes and Skills, these abilities, while powerful, were generally static and unique. One person might have enhanced strength, speed, and durability, while another might be able to invent unfathomably advanced technology, and yet another might be able to alter the minds of others.

Taylor was one of them. “Capes”, she’d called them. She had gotten her power recently, only months ago. And it allowed her to control insects. As she spoke, she directed a pair of flies over to their table to demonstrate her abilities, moving them through complex aerial maneuvers. And as Klbkch listened, his anger and suspicion faded a bit, turning into fascination.

“So, I-I guess the attack you felt was my power attempting to take control of you? It wasn’t on purpose, I swear! I can’t — or well, before all this happened, I  _ couldn’t _ control what my power brought under its control. And, uh, no offense, but you do look like a giant ant.”

As far as Klbkch could tell, Taylor was telling the truth. He could detect the guilt she felt at involuntarily trying to gain control of him, but her words rang true.

“No offense taken; it is an apt description. And you say your power changed upon you acquiring the [Unitasis Network] Skill?”

“Yeah. My control feels… finer now. More precise. I feel like my mind is being connected more directly to my bugs. But that also came with some downsides; I had a massive migraine earlier, and had to shut out my swarm entirely, because my mind couldn’t handle all the sensory input.”

“And you are  _ sure _ that you cannot sense me through your power currently, and therefore cannot even attempt to exert control?”

“Y-yeah.”

Hm. She did still seem to be telling the truth. But even if Taylor could not control Antinium, her power made her quite formidable. Klbkch’s thoughts went to the jar of dead acid flies Erin had left on the table, and to the infestations of Shield Spiders Liscor’s Watch had to deal with regularly, and twitched. Quite formidable indeed. He  _ had _ to be sure where her intentions lay. And, after a brief exchange, his Queen agreed. Words were not sufficient, and nor was [Detect Guilt]. But they had another tool.

“Thank you for being honest with me, Miss Hebert. I am glad your first encounter with the Antinium was through me; I shudder to think of what might have happened had you ventured further into Liscor and sensed the depths of our Hive. But, you must understand, I am still worried. The potential threat you pose is too great for mere words to satisfy me.”

At this, Taylor drew back, worried. She shifted in her seat, and looked ready to bolt at any second. Klbkch continued, reassuring her.

“Please, hear me out. I can think of one way to put my worries at ease. But it will require trust from both of us. You claimed that you cannot sense me through your power. But I can sense your mind, as clearly as I could any Antinium. Perhaps it would be possible for us to communicate with our minds, through a Unitasis Network, rather than with mere words. It would allow me to more accurately ascertain your intentions, and you mine. I do not offer this lightly. What say you, Taylor Hebert?”

The young girl’s mouth had dropped open slightly in shock.

“Um… ah… how would this work, exactly? Could you read my mind? Could you  _ control _ me, like I control my bugs?”

She shuddered at that. Klbkch twitched in amusement.

“Now you see my worries. But no, that is not how Unitasis Networks work. I have never heard of anything like the control you exert over insects, though I suspect it has to do with their primitive minds. We Antinium use it simply as a more efficient form of communication, where one communicates exactly what they mean. It is possible to form a more intimate link, such as the one I share with my Queen, but that requires agreement from both parties. You would be able to block my mind just as I blocked your earlier attack, and just as you blocked off your power.”

Taylor considered this for a moment, and then sighed.

“...I see. In that case… well, it doesn’t sound like I could stop you from trying to connect anyways. I hope this will convince you that I really do mean no harm.”

“I hope so too, Miss Hebert. Now, shall we get started?“

Taylor nodded, slowly. Klbkch mentally disconnected from his Queen, just in case.

“I am reaching out now. You should be feeling my mind brushing against yours…”

As Klbkch felt their minds connect, he switched to sending thoughts.

_ (Ah, I see you have figured it out.) _

He saw Taylor  _ wince _ , hand shooting up to her forehead. The response came slowly, consisting of thoughts shaped into words, carrying much less nuance and information than Klbkch was used to. The word-thoughts were tinged with pain and annoyance, as well as some hesitation.

_ (Ow! Can’t tell what you said. Too much. Too fast. Headache.) _

Interesting. Klbkch suspected Taylor wasn’t used to the way Antinium thought. But this would still do. He deliberately slowed down his next thoughts, forming them more clearly into words.

_ (I see. Your mind is different. I will stick to this for now.) _

_ (Thanks.) _

_ (So, Taylor Hebert, were you telling the truth?) _

_ (Yes.) _

With the last message came senses of firm certainty and faint annoyance. At that, Klbkch relaxed.

_ (Relief. Do you mean harm to the Antinium or Liscor?) _

_ (No.) _

Again, certainty, and even more annoyance. But not a hint of malice.

_ (Relief. Gratitude. I will disconnect now.) _

Content with Taylor’s answers, Klbkch cut off the connection, and rejoined his mind to his Queen’s to convey the good news. He stood up, and bowed.

“Thank you, Miss Hebert, for putting my mind at ease. Perhaps we should communicate like this more in the future,”

Taylor nodded, dazed.

“Yeah, uh… yeah.”

”You are a powerful individual. I hope that you may become a valuable ally for the Antinium and Liscor. There are several issues I can think of that you would be uniquely suited to solving — with compensation, of course — but that is for another time. For now, I am hungry, and Erin has promised to cook acid flies for me. Have a good day.”

And with that, he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A combination of end-of-semester schoolwork, being distracted by a couple of amazing TWI chapters being released, and a lot of difficulty writing this chapter led to a much later release than I had hoped. But hopefully, now that the semester is basically over, I should have more time to write. I might even come up with a schedule.
> 
> Any feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated!


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